


Chocolate Fixes Everything

by xslytherclawx



Series: HP Battleships 2019 [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chocolate, Depressed Sirius Black, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Old Married Couple, Sirius Black Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 01:53:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19735966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: Remus can't imagine how difficult it is for Sirius to live in a house that held so many horrible memories.





	Chocolate Fixes Everything

**Author's Note:**

> ~~I'm actually writing a popular ship? What is this, 2017?~~
> 
> I feel like I've written a lot of wolfstar, just not as a main ship. So now, here we are.
> 
> This is, again, independent from my other works, though it could, I suppose, be read as complaint with _[I Know My Luck Too Well](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18916552/chapters/44906830)_ , though a decade later. It is decidedly **not** compliant with my Ravenclaw AU, and doesn't borrow much from that multiverse, either.
> 
> Written for HP Battleships fest! Thanks so much to Kit for beta reading and britpicking!

**1996.**

* * *

It was truly a dreary day, though, generally speaking, London has never been known for its beautiful weather. In mid-November, then, the weather was truly dreadful; grey and dull and rainy. It wasn’t quite cold enough yet for the rain to turn to snow, though Remus sincerely doubted that even that would help Sirius’s mood.

If Remus were honest, Sirius had been in a sour mood for the past three years, though it had taken a turn for the worse after Harry had gone back to Hogwarts, and had become nearly unbearable since Sirius’s birthday had passed two weeks ago.

It was bad enough that Dumbledore insisted – for reasons he refused to reveal to Sirius  _ or _ Remus – that Harry had to go back to his abusive Muggle relatives for at least a week each summer (as if Dumbledore didn’t know perfectly well how that would affect Sirius), but Sirius was still not allowed out of the house.

It had been a miracle that Remus had managed to catch him when he’d gone to try to sneak out and help Harry at the Ministry. Who knew what could have happened?

Remus heard a door slam and waited to see if he heard the portrait of Walburga Black start screaming again. He’d had his own issues in his relationships with his own parents, but neither Lyall nor Hope Lupin had ever treated him poorly. He knew – beyond any shadow of a doubt – that his parents had loved him very much; that they’d wanted only the best for him.

And still, he knew he’d hate being stuck in his childhood home (or the closest thing that could pass for it).

Sirius wasn’t in the habit of talking about his feelings (a problem Remus suspected the entire family had shared, but, then, he really only  _ knew _ Sirius), but Remus couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be forced to live in a place where you had known nothing but abuse and control for the first sixteen years of your life. (Maybe, Remus thought, that wasn’t quite true; Sirius had loved his brother before everything with Regulus had gone to shit – but that didn’t do anything to remove his parents’ abuse from the equation).

After a few minutes, Remus thought he might as well try to talk to him.

He found Sirius sulking in the kitchen, a bottle of firewhisky open on the table.

Remus walked to one of the cabinets and found two glasses. He sat down across from Sirius, put one of the glasses down in front of him, and then poured his own. He knew better than to try to talk first. Even after thirteen years apart, he knew Sirius better than anyone else.

“It’s bullshit,” Sirius said after a few minutes.

Remus didn’t respond – not verbally. He raised an eyebrow and met Sirius’s gaze. Sirius poured himself a glass of firewhisky.

“He should have never been with those people,” Sirius said. “He should have been with us.”

Remus didn’t remind him that  _ “us” _ had been falling apart long before James and Lily were killed. He liked the romantic idea that Sirius had in his head, and he wasn’t going to destroy it by pointing out that they were so distrustful and suspicious of each other at the end that Sirius had insisted Remus not be Secret Keeper, and that Remus had thought Sirius guilty of betraying James and Lily with, really, not much doubt.

“Not in this  _ fucking dungeon, _ of course,” Sirius continued. “I wonder – you know, if Reg hadn’t been such a fucking  _ idiot,” _ – which Remus knew by now to mean ‘if Regulus were still alive’ – “if he’d have hated being stuck here as much as I do.”

Sirius looked at him in a way that Remus was aware meant he wanted a response. “I’d imagine so,” Remus said. He’d wondered more than once whether Regulus, who had always seemed quite bright, if not a bit arrogant, would have met the same end if he and Sirius had had better parents. 

“I’m sure she was fucking worse to him after I left. Not that the fucking twat didn’t deserve it –”

“Sirius.”

“What?”

“You were  _ children. _ When you left… you were Harry’s age. Regulus was two years younger. No child deserved  _ that.” _

“What would you have done with him, then?” Sirius asked. 

“I’m certain there’s something that could have been done to have prevented –”

“The little idiot from trying to back out once he’d realised his mistake?” Sirius scoffed. “He never even tried to come to me, you know. Never – never tried to get me to help. I would have – I would have helped.”

“Would you have?” Remus asked. The Sirius he’d known in 1979 certainly wouldn’t have entertained anything his brother had had to say, and surely the Sirius sitting across from him in 1996 knew that as well.

“He was an idiot, but I didn’t want him  _ dead.” _

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Remus agreed. “But would you have listened to him?”

“He should have tried,” Sirius said. “Merlin, Moony, you know – he was barely older than Harry is now.”

“I know,” Remus said.

“He was a fucking twat, and a moron, and probably a killer, but – I never did find out what Voldemort did to him.”

Remus didn’t want to think about that. He knew, though, that he had to get Sirius out of this line of thought. He’d been dwelling on Regulus more than he ever had before since he’d had to start living at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place again. Remus wished James were there; he’d always been the best one at cheering Sirius up.

But James had been dead for fifteen years, and Regulus for seventeen.

Remus was the only one left.

“Harry will come round for the hols,” Remus said instead. “I think... Sirius, have you actually told him about us?”

Sirius met his gaze, though he looked unfocused. “I should think it’s obvious that we’re together. You  _ do _ live here, too.”

“Has he ever been to the top landing?” Remus asked. “Does he know that it’s just your room and Regulus’s up there?”

“I dunno,” Sirius said. “But he’s seen how affectionate I am with you.”

“Padfoot, we have actual physical proof that you’ve got a similar personality to a dog.”

Sirius snorted. “Have we not kissed in front of him?”

“Not that I can recall,” Remus said. He was certain he’d remember such a thing. Besides, it wasn’t as if they kissed with any real frequency.

“You honestly think Harry’s got no idea we’re together?”

“I’m not sure,” Remus said. “But I think it might be worth talking to him about.”

“All right, whatever,” Sirius said. 

* * *

Sirius’s foul mood had still not gotten any better the next morning, and London was just as dreary outside their bedroom window. Remus tried to make Sirius feel a bit better by sucking him off, which normally worked (at least to an extent), but afterwards Sirius just lay there.

“I hate this fucking house,” Sirius said, laying an arm over his eyes.

Remus knew, then, that trying to actually fuck Sirius would likely make his mood even worse. With a bit of nerve, Remus kissed his jaw. He knew there was no way that he could get Sirius out of the house. Even as Padfoot, it was dangerous.

“Honestly, I don’t know what Dumbledore is waiting for – Fudge has been ousted. Am I really meant to wait until the war is over to have a fair trial?”

Remus couldn’t think of anything to say that would make Sirius feel better – or even that just wouldn’t make Sirius feel worse – so he kissed him. He really needed to think of something.

He’d write to Harry when he had a moment – maybe even try to Floo him – and make sure that Harry was writing regularly. Harry’s letters were probably Sirius’s only tether to sanity at the moment. Remus personally didn’t think he was too much help himself.

* * *

He was finishing up his letter in the study when he heard Sirius shouting at Kreacher. He took a deep breath and ventured out to see what had happened.

He entered the kitchen to find Sirius and Kreacher locked in a staring contest. “What’s going on?”

“That fucking foul little –”

“Sirius.”

“He’s spoiled all the food!”

Remus really didn’t think that was the end of the world. Bill Weasley had been subtly passing Sirius gold from his vault to a point where Remus was sure they could afford just about anything. “Then I’ll go to the market,” he said. “Merlin’s beard, Sirius, don’t  _ kill _ him.”

He wasn’t fond of Kreacher – or anything  _ approaching _ fond – but all the same, he had his uses, and he didn’t want to have to worry about disposing of a House Elf’s body.

“Let me go with you,” Sirius said.

“You know as well as I do that that’s not a good idea,” Remus said. “Kingsley is doing as much as he can, but – you heard what Harry said last year.”

Sirius frowned. “Unfortunately.”

Remus stepped close and clasped his shoulder. “You know if I could help you leave this house, I would. But I don’t think either of us much fancies the idea of you getting sent back to Azkaban.”

“Kreacher thinks –”

“Shut the fuck up, Kreacher,” Sirius said.

* * *

Remus got some of the gold changed over at Gringotts. His original plan was to find some Muggle amusement – if only a record (Sirius  _ did _ still have that enchanted record player around, after all) – to help maybe cheer Sirius up, but on the way to the record shop, he passed by Tesco, which was advertising a sale on Dairy Milk.

And, well, a little chocolate never hurt.

So he went into Tesco, grabbed a basket, and set out with the intention of buying some Dairy Milk and then going to the record shop.

But then he saw that the fancy Belgian imported hot chocolate mix (which Lily had sworn by and which Remus associated with her and with his brief stint living as a Muggle after she and James had died) was also on promotion, so he put a canister of the dry mix in his basket. He couldn’t have that without milk – and he had a feeling any milk at the house would have been spoiled – so he bought that. Then, well, he sort of lost track.

He went to the register with his basket nearly overflowing.

“Girlfriend trouble?” the cashier asked him, looking at his purchases.

“Something like that,” Remus agreed.

* * *

He arrived home (well, he doubted Grimmauld Place would ever feel like  _ home, _ but it was where Sirius was, so it was as good as Remus  _ had) _ around dinnertime. He hadn’t meant to be gone for so long. He put his purchases away (making sure to set the Muggle refrigerated items in the ice box, which he triple checked to ensure was still working), and went to find Sirius.

He found him sulking in the study.

“Hey,” he said.

“You were gone a while.”

“I got something for us,” he said, and Sirius’s eyebrows shot up.

“This isn’t another Muggle sex toy, is it?”

“Can you imagine how your family would feel if they knew you were fucking a werewolf and using Muggle sex toys in their house?” Remus asked.

Sirius snorted, which was encouraging. “Probably only a bit worse than I feel knowing I’m stuck in this house.”

Remus stepped close and kissed him. He tasted like firewhisky – which wasn’t totally surprising – but he didn’t seem to be properly  _ drunk. _ “Let’s have a bath.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “A bath?”

“Together,” Remus said.

“Well, all right,” Sirius said. “If you  _ insist.” _

“I do,” Remus said as he tugged him up and led him to the bathroom.

He started running the bath and poured in some of the fancy bubble bath he’d bought a few months prior before he started undressing Sirius. Sirius wasn’t quite  _ active _ about it, but he let Remus undress him easily enough. Sirius didn’t make any move to undress Remus, so Remus undressed himself, and then pulled Sirius into the bath.

“This feels ridiculous,” Sirius said.

“We used to do this all the time,” Remus said.

“Yes, when we were  _ twenty.” _

Remus rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to Sirius’s shoulder. “No one from the Order’s due to come in tonight,” he said. 

“I’m not letting you fuck me in the bathtub,” Sirius said. 

“I remember how that ended last time,” Remus said. They’d both wound up with soap in their eyes, Remus had hit his head on the faucet, and the actual sex had been really rather unpleasant in the water. “I just want to relax with you. Is that a crime?”

“Technically, yes,” Sirius said. “You know the whereabouts of a known criminal and you’re not running to Kingsley Shaklebolt to report me – I’m fairly certain that makes you an accomplice.”

“I’m certainly a willing accomplice, then,” Remus said. “Why don’t we cut your hair?”

Sirius laughed. “Was this all a ploy to talk me into cutting my hair off? I thought you didn’t  _ mind _ long hair, Moony.”

“I don’t,” Remus said. “But long hair’s rather a lot to take care of, and I do miss running my fingers through your short hair.”

“Oh, fine,” Sirius agreed. “You can cut my hair, but if it looks like shit, Remus, so help me.”

“It won’t look like shit.”

* * *

Sirius’s hair really didn’t look like shit, and what was more, it made him look a decade younger. Perhaps he didn’t quite look thirty-seven – Remus doubted Sirius  _ would _ ever look his age again – but he looked healthier.

They dressed and went down to the kitchen. “You said you had something for me?” Sirius asked.

“I did,” Remus said. “I actually went to the Muggle market, too.”

Sirius grinned wickedly. “Surprised Kreacher’s not pitched himself off the roof, in that case. Though I suppose I shouldn’t get my hopes up.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “I thought we’d make biscuits,” he said. “I got everything we need at the store.”

“Biscuits,” Sirius repeated.

“Yes,” Remus said.

“Why on  _ earth _ would you think I’d want to make biscuits?”

“If you don’t want any, I’ll eat them all myself,” Remus said. “It’s really no loss for me.”

“Oh, piss off,” Sirius said. “Of course I’ll  _ eat _ them. What else did you get?”

“Chocolate bars – and hot chocolate mix.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “Hot chocolate mix?”

“That Muggle stuff Lily used to go on about.” He wasn’t entirely sure how the mention of Lily would settle with Sirius – it typically didn’t make matters worse, but there was always a chance…

“Well, if it’s Muggle, we might as well give it a shot. Make sure Kreacher knows we’re defiling the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black by gorging on Muggle food. Oh! We should eat it in the drawing room! Right in front of that blasted tapestry!”

“All right,” Remus agreed genially. “But we’ve got to make the biscuits and hot chocolate first.”

* * *

In the end, they settled on just eating the dough raw (which Remus was fairly sure wasn’t very healthy, but they were wizards and could probably come up with an antidote if they needed one). Sirius brought down all the blankets from their room and set up a makeshift tent, complete with what Remus was certain was every pillow in the house.

Remus raised an eyebrow when Sirius snapped one of the Dairy Milks in half and sandwiched a lump of biscuit dough between it. Sirius saw, and made a smaller one for him. “Come on, Moony; you’ve got to try it.”

He did, and he had to admit that it wasn’t terrible. At one point, Sirius splashed some of the hot chocolate (“Better than I expected, but still  _ nothing _ compared to Honeydukes, really”) on the pillows – though Remus took care of it with a quick charm.

The rain tapped on the windows, unrelenting, and Remus wasn’t quite sure where Kreacher had gone off to (he wasn’t sure he wanted to know). In spite of the terrible weather and the terrible house, Remus actually felt comfortable for the first time in a long time.

He was about to voice that thought to Sirius, but then Sirius kissed his neck and started working at his robes.

“Here?” Remus asked.

“No one’s meant to come in; I’ll set some privacy charms in case anyone does.” To his credit, he did so immediately, and besides, in the blanket tent they weren’t immediately visible to anyone who might walk in. And anyway, having shared a dormitory with James Potter for seven years, it wasn’t quite as if Remus had never been walked in on.

“All right,” Remus agreed, and he hungrily stripped Sirius of his robes. The only light in the tent came from Remus’s wand, which he extinguished. Sirius, after all, didn’t like having sex with the lights on, and though Sirius was one of the few people Remus had slept with who  _ hadn’t _ made him uncomfortable by focusing on his scars, Remus preferred the dark himself. There was something about it that made him feel as if his senses had been heightened – and he and Sirius both knew each other’s bodies as well as they knew their own, by this point.

He didn’t bother trying to be quiet as Sirius kissed his neck, though he did pull him up for a proper kiss. Sirius trailed kisses down Remus’s body, and Remus buried his fingers in Sirius’s (much shorter) hair. Sex with Sirius was comfortable; more so than it had ever been with anyone else. He closed his eyes (not that it made much difference) as Sirius started sucking his cock. Really, how could the night have ended any other way?

* * *

Remus woke the next morning to find the blanket tent had come down at some point. He was curled around Sirius, and they were both splayed out on pillows and blankets. He heard someone knocking on the door, and looked out the window.

It was sunny. In London. In November. He could actually see the blue of the sky. Interesting.

The knocking continued, and Remus cursed under his breath. He found his trousers and pulled them on, taking care not to disturb Sirius. Who knew how long it had been since he’d had a good night’s rest (and after the way Remus had fucked him the night before, he’d  _ definitely _ have a good night’s rest).

He slipped his robes on (or maybe they were Sirius’s; it hardly mattered), and padded over to the drawing room door. He was careful not to open the door too wide – Sirius was covered by the blankets, but he couldn’t be too safe. Not that everyone didn’t already know they were fucking.

Tonks stood on the other side of the door. “Wotcher, Remus!”

“Good morning, Tonks,” he greeted politely, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him when it became apparent that Tonks was trying to look over his shoulder.

“I thought you and Sirius slept on the top floor?” she asked.

“Yes,” Remus said. “Well.”

Tonks grinned. “I get it,” she said. “You need  _ some _ variety to keep the romance alive.”

“That’s totally inappropriate,” Remus said. “Did you need us for anything, Tonks?”

“Oh!” she said. “Yeah; Dumbledore is downstairs. With Snape, so – maybe it’s best Sirius sits this one out.”

Lovely. “Let me just – go get dressed,” he said. “I’ll be down in a moment. It’s probably best that no one tries to go in the drawing room.”

Tonks saluted him. “Understood. I’ll go let them know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me on [tumblr](http://xslytherclawx.tumblr.com/)! And if you'd like to read 8k of Remus angst, I'd recommend my fic, _[I Know My Luck Too Well](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18916552/chapters/44906830)_ , which follows Remus over a few months in the mid 1980s.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Please feel free to join my [discord server](https://discord.gg/yb6bS3c)! It’s a general Harry Potter server.


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